2 wellness retreats – in Phuket and Bali – that will help you refocus your life

My personal belief is that the simple act of putting a hashtag in front of any word on social media strips it of all meaning.

I’m as guilty as the next person of indulging in #catsofinstagram but when it comes to words like “mindfulness” and “wellbeing”, I’m starting to forget that it has less to do with yoga silhouettes against pastel sunsets and more to do with a deep and personal sense of contentment and ease.

I tried two wellness retreats as part of my “mindfulness journey” last year and it wasn’t without a certain amount of trepidation. A simple Google search will tell you that these experiences, aimed at promoting the increasingly popular notion of “holistic wellbeing”, can run the gamut from gimmicky spa treatments to programmes involving blood transfusions and metaphysical energy healing. The latter subscribes to the idea that you have to rid your body of all negative energies to receive the positive energies of the universe, a process that can involve near-starvation.

Even within this segment, however, are vastly different methods of achieving your wellness goal. Both Banyan Tree Spa Sanctuary Phuket and Revivo Wellness Resort in Bali, for example, have tailor-made programmes that cater to various wellbeing goals, but where Banyan Tree adopts a more laid-back approach, encouraging guests to cherry-pick activities that appeal to them, Revivo has a more regimented set-up aimed at pushing you to finally hit the “reset” button.

The effectiveness of each approach depends entirely on your own personality and history, but they do have one thing in common – joy.

“I truly believe that wellbeing has to be sustainable and long-term, and for it to be sustainable it has to be enjoyable to you.”

Laurie Mias, the CEO of Revivo Wellness Resort, an intimate retreat in Nusa Dua, Bali, with only 16 villas, agrees that the notion of wellbeing necessarily involves happiness, but she adds an extra consideration – training.